To maintain dental hygiene, it is important to clean the teeth every so often, and to remove food remnants from between the teeth. At present, various means are used for this purpose, dental floss being one of the most efficient means currently available. One particularly popular means is lengths of waxed dental floss, contained within a dispenser, wound onto a spool, with one end protruding slightly. In preparation for use, the user pulls the end of the dental floss, exposing the desired length of floss from the dispenser, and then cuts it and uses it.
The length of the dental floss contained within the dispenser can be, for example, 50 meters. A typical length of the length cut for the purpose of use can be approximately 30 centimeters.
There are many situations in which a user knows that there will be a need for a single-use package of dental floss, such as for example, when going out to a restaurant and continuing straight on from there to another event. In this case, carrying a dispenser with an unnecessary length of floss is inconvenient.
In order to meet the need for a small and convenient means of dental flossing, several solutions have been propose, such as a fork-like device with two prongs and a short length of dental floss stretched between them. However, those who prefer a more thorough cleaning with the dental floss wound on their own fingers, one from each hand, do not find such solutions satisfactory.
Packages of short pieces of dental floss for single use have also been proposed.
An oral hygiene device, which is a disposable single use package, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,728 of Court.
FIG. 1 of the prior art illustrates the disposable single use package 60 of Court.
The single use package 60 includes a dental floss 10 at a length suitable for single use, a first triangularly shaped leaf 61 and a second triangularly shaped leaf 62. The first triangularly shaped leaf 61 and the second triangularly shaped leaf 62 are connected to each other by means of a common ridge. When in storage, they are folded onto each other, and prior to use, they are opened, to enable removal of the dental floss 10.
A single use dental floss dispenser is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,194 of Dolan.
FIG. 2 of the prior art illustrates the single use dental floss dispenser 70 of Dolan.
The single use dental floss dispenser 70 of Dolan includes a dental floss 10 at a length suitable for single use, disposed within a cover portion 71, which is closed for storage by means of a lid portion 72. The lid portion 72 is opened prior to use, to enable removal of the dental floss 10.
In spite of all of the known and existent solutions, there is still a need for a short length of dental floss, conveniently packaged for single use. It is possible to simply pre-cut a short length of dental floss and store it in one's pocket, until it is removed from the pocket for use. This would be the most convenient solution in terms of storage, volume, and weight; however, in this manner the dental floss cannot be kept sufficiently clean, and can cause infections in the user's mouth.
None of the prior art devices comprises all of the above characteristics and functions.
There is therefore a need for a device including a short length of dental floss, for single use, whose size, volume, weight, and pliability are similar to those of bare dental floss, while maintaining sanitary conditions during carrying in the user's pocket. Such a device would be suitable for use at restaurants and other such businesses and venues, similarly to toothpicks provided in a suitable dispenser on the table or countertop.